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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
”Adrian stood there leaning against the doorframe, watching me with his heart in his eyes. In my chest, my own heart was breaking.”
LET ME DIEEEE
LET ME DIEEEE
I loved this book; simple as that.
It’s chock-full of humor, witty banter, and quick quips, and made me smile more times than I can count, without going overboard, and still being plot-driven and exciting.
Seeing things from Sydney’s point of view, hearing her thoughts, and struggling with her through various situations—some quite awkward for her, but at the same time making her even more endearing to me—was so refreshing.
Next to the characters we already met in the Vampire Academy series, we are introduced to so many more likable characters—thanks to the fact that they’re all very well fleshed-out and relatable—next to the ones we got to know and love.
I especially enjoyed the further build-up of Adrian and Sydney’s relationship (starting from [b:Bloodlines|8709527|Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1)|Richelle Mead|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1297199431l/8709527._SY75_.jpg|13582374]) from acquaintances to friends and more immensely. It’s been a really long time since I fell in love with a pairing, which may be why they stand out even more to me, but even if it hadn’t, there’s no way they don’t give you butterflies.
Many, many thanks and kisses to my friend Ellyce for recommending this book to me!
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It’s chock-full of humor, witty banter, and quick quips, and made me smile more times than I can count, without going overboard, and still being plot-driven and exciting.
Seeing things from Sydney’s point of view, hearing her thoughts, and struggling with her through various situations—some quite awkward for her, but at the same time making her even more endearing to me—was so refreshing.
Next to the characters we already met in the Vampire Academy series, we are introduced to so many more likable characters—thanks to the fact that they’re all very well fleshed-out and relatable—next to the ones we got to know and love.
I especially enjoyed the further build-up of Adrian and Sydney’s relationship (starting from [b:Bloodlines|8709527|Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1)|Richelle Mead|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1297199431l/8709527._SY75_.jpg|13582374]) from acquaintances to friends and more immensely. It’s been a really long time since I fell in love with a pairing, which may be why they stand out even more to me, but even if it hadn’t, there’s no way they don’t give you butterflies.
Many, many thanks and kisses to my friend Ellyce for recommending this book to me!
Blog | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5
Love Adrianne haha he made this whole book for me 24601. And it only got better from there.
Love Adrianne haha he made this whole book for me 24601. And it only got better from there.
Another great one from Richelle Mead! I'm so addicted to this stuff.
I love Sydney and I love the arc she's on. She's in a really strange and challenging position professionally. She's learning a lot about herself in the process, slowly but surely changing as she has nearly all of her strongest and most ingrained beliefs challenged.
And can I get a Hallelujah that Mead decided to keep writing about Adrian? I spent all of VA swooning over Dimitri (He's 6'7", so it was automatic love for this tall chick.) but I always felt for Adrian too and here he's finally really coming into his own. He and Sydney are the Romeo and Juliet of this story and it's so much fun to read them.
I still wish Jill and Eddie and Angeline had some stronger storylines. I think something will be done eventually with Jill being the target, but I liked the mystery/action plot stuff in this one anyway. It served to drive home the larger points to us and to Sydney: evil and goodness war within the individual, not within a group.
I don't know what I'm going to do when I catch up with the series and have to wait months for the last couple, especially if they keep ending on these big dramatic moments.
I love Sydney and I love the arc she's on. She's in a really strange and challenging position professionally. She's learning a lot about herself in the process, slowly but surely changing as she has nearly all of her strongest and most ingrained beliefs challenged.
And can I get a Hallelujah that Mead decided to keep writing about Adrian? I spent all of VA swooning over Dimitri (He's 6'7", so it was automatic love for this tall chick.) but I always felt for Adrian too and here he's finally really coming into his own. He and Sydney are the Romeo and Juliet of this story and it's so much fun to read them.
I still wish Jill and Eddie and Angeline had some stronger storylines. I think something will be done eventually with Jill being the target, but I liked the mystery/action plot stuff in this one anyway. It served to drive home the larger points to us and to Sydney: evil and goodness war within the individual, not within a group.
I don't know what I'm going to do when I catch up with the series and have to wait months for the last couple, especially if they keep ending on these big dramatic moments.
Sydney Sage is settling into life at her posh boarding school protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, but an unheard of extremist group puts everything in jeopardy when they target someone important to her in this sequel to Bloodlines.
Sydney begins to question the morals and mission instilled in her by the Alchemist as her relationships with the Moroi and Dhampir's in her life grow. It's fascinating watching someone reshape their worldviews by real experiences and not the dogma of an organization (be it religious, political, etc.). Sydney's struggle to uphold her strict upbringing yet keep sight of her new found understanding of the world is authentic and relatable. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sydney Sage is my favorite character.
On top of epic character development, Sydney decides to explore another adventure - dating. Watching her attempt to understand the social constructs of dating was utterly delightful. But it's her deepening connection to Adrian (and his to her) that shines. The friendship they build seems so unlikely due to their very different natures, but it just works. With a widening group of friends and foes alike and an interesting adventure, it's definitely one of my favorite books of the series.
Sydney begins to question the morals and mission instilled in her by the Alchemist as her relationships with the Moroi and Dhampir's in her life grow. It's fascinating watching someone reshape their worldviews by real experiences and not the dogma of an organization (be it religious, political, etc.). Sydney's struggle to uphold her strict upbringing yet keep sight of her new found understanding of the world is authentic and relatable. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sydney Sage is my favorite character.
On top of epic character development, Sydney decides to explore another adventure - dating. Watching her attempt to understand the social constructs of dating was utterly delightful. But it's her deepening connection to Adrian (and his to her) that shines. The friendship they build seems so unlikely due to their very different natures, but it just works. With a widening group of friends and foes alike and an interesting adventure, it's definitely one of my favorite books of the series.
The beginning of one of my favorite fictional relationships. I admittedly didn't see it coming (I had many other predictions) until it smacked me in the face but I love it.
4.5
Spoiler
JESUS CHRIST THE ENDING MY HEART THIS IS NOT FAIR
the romances in vampire academy weren't really my main priority although i liked them well enough but i am ridiculously invested in the main romance in this series much to my surprise. i really like sydney and adrian together.
This, and other reviews can be found on my blog Just a Lil' Lost...
Picking up where Bloodlines left off, Sydney is holding onto her role of Alchemist to keep the rest of the world from finding out about the existence of vampires (known as Moroi and Strigoi). While being praised by her elders, she is struggling to maintain a neutral relationship with those who have now become her friends. In trying to stay distant, she starts dating Brayden, a guy who can match her in intelligence and interests and yet Sydney distinctly notices the lack of a spark between the otherwise perfect couple. Her resistance to the magical world is pushed to its limits when she's forced to face some inhibitions and undeniable facts to save one of them.
To be honest, it took me a bit of digging through my memory to remember what had happened in the first book. I couldn't remember who was Moroi, Strigoi or Dhampir and while I like that Mead didn't do a full-on recap of the previous book, it still took a few chapters to fully get re-immersed into this world. There were some moments early on that I'm sure were a set-up for the next book, so I didn't quite get the relevance of it but it was definitely around the midway point that really picked up speed for me.
You could often see where the interactions with characters was hinting at, and while sometimes it might have been really obvious, it didn't necessarily fully detract from it either. It was a nice nod to the readers that we were in on something that the protagonist wasn't. Which leads me to the ridiculous swoon-worthy build-up of a love interest. By far, my favourite scenes from the book revolved around the tension between these two. Oh goodness, how many times I wanted to smack Sydney upside the head for her oblivious and stubborn ways.
Similar to the first book in the series, The Golden Lily has a satisfying build to an action-packed showdown. The (frustrating!) ending will leave you hanging and desperate for the third book, The Indigo Spell (due out in Feb 2013). A great follow-up to the successful first book!
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ (4/5 stars)
Picking up where Bloodlines left off, Sydney is holding onto her role of Alchemist to keep the rest of the world from finding out about the existence of vampires (known as Moroi and Strigoi). While being praised by her elders, she is struggling to maintain a neutral relationship with those who have now become her friends. In trying to stay distant, she starts dating Brayden, a guy who can match her in intelligence and interests and yet Sydney distinctly notices the lack of a spark between the otherwise perfect couple. Her resistance to the magical world is pushed to its limits when she's forced to face some inhibitions and undeniable facts to save one of them.
To be honest, it took me a bit of digging through my memory to remember what had happened in the first book. I couldn't remember who was Moroi, Strigoi or Dhampir and while I like that Mead didn't do a full-on recap of the previous book, it still took a few chapters to fully get re-immersed into this world. There were some moments early on that I'm sure were a set-up for the next book, so I didn't quite get the relevance of it but it was definitely around the midway point that really picked up speed for me.
You could often see where the interactions with characters was hinting at, and while sometimes it might have been really obvious, it didn't necessarily fully detract from it either. It was a nice nod to the readers that we were in on something that the protagonist wasn't. Which leads me to the ridiculous swoon-worthy build-up of a love interest. By far, my favourite scenes from the book revolved around the tension between these two. Oh goodness, how many times I wanted to smack Sydney upside the head for her oblivious and stubborn ways.
Similar to the first book in the series, The Golden Lily has a satisfying build to an action-packed showdown. The (frustrating!) ending will leave you hanging and desperate for the third book, The Indigo Spell (due out in Feb 2013). A great follow-up to the successful first book!
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ (4/5 stars)